rinse and repeat
by Xephonia
Summary: All good things go by three, but sleeping with your arch enemy is an exception from that rule.


**-104**

 _Looking into Vector's soul might be a mistake_ , Nasch thinks.

It definitely is a mistake, because Vector's soul is like a bottomless black hole with no end in sight.

Oddly and disturbingly comforting; a swirl of emotions from raging hatred to sick pleasure that all blend together.

But when your soul is so close to another's, you can't tell what's your emotion and what's theirs, anyway,

(Nasch would get lost in it, if not for the awareness that Vector, too, is looking into his soul. That Vector is seeing things he, by all means, should never find out about.)

"Ew," Vector comments from below Nasch, but Nasch can't really see his expression with their gems touching and his senses overloaded.

(They'll blame it on the close proximity to the Sea of Ill Intent later, he knows, but they both know that's not really why they did this. It's curiosity. Then again, curiosity killed the cat.)

 _Why is the easiest way to determine someone's loyalties the most intimate way, anyway?_

Nasch doesn't get to contemplate that more, because Vector keeps touching his shoulder gems, making coherent thought hard.

Should he really be getting off right now despite having found out that Vector is planning to kill him? Probably not.

But he is, and he says, between pathetic noises, "I won't go down without a fight."

Vector giggles. "I expected no less."

* * *

 **-10**

"I don't think we'll ever have to, but I just wanted to tell you guys that we can take on a human form."

Usually, Vector wouldn't pay attention because this is Nasch and when is anything Nasch says ever relevant at all?, but this information is unusually useful.

(How the hell did Nasch find that out anyway?)

On other days, Nasch reminds them to stay alert in case Astral World attacks. It's not like these assholes would ever get their own hands dirty though, so Vector supposes that Nasch is being paranoid.

 _Pathetic._

"Won't you demonstrate?" Vector wills himself to not sound mocking. Barely.

"No." Nasch's dumb dismissive expression, again.

"Why not?"

"I won't assume that form for longer than I have to."

 _Nasch, you're a shitty liar._

Instead, Vector says, "You're boring."

* * *

 **-9.5**

A human body is quite a thing to have.

It's squishy and weak and it has weird organs that seem to have no real function whatsoever.

 _What the fuck do you need a tongue for?_

* * *

Heartland City is, much like most human things, not very resourceful.

(But, much like humans, Vector can appreciate not being resourceful when there's no necessity to be. Unlike certain killjoys he begrudgingly calls his kind.)

The neon lights are quite a sight— certain colors have been almost entirely absent from his life so far, including but not limited to his hair color.

To his left, a ferris wheel. To his right, a strip club.

 _I could get used to thi_ s, he thinks. _I should come here more often._

* * *

 **-8**

Nasch has been coming to Heartland City quite often, lately.

(Only Merag and Durbe know, and they keep his crest safe when he's there. He doesn't trust his human body to be able to protect it.)

He's not quite sure what draws him there, but the busy city and how he doesn't stand out in the masses might be a big part of it.

(Not having to think about war is nice.)

"Hey, watch where you're going!" A boy bumps into Nasch.

"Ryouga, don't be so rude! You could've avoided him, too—" A girl of the same age as the boy— maybe 5? they look like twins— follows after. "Is he a relative?"

Nasch takes a moment to process the situation. Then. "Sorry."

The boy— Ryouga— looks at Nasch with big eyes and it's only then that Nasch realizes that they oddly resemble each other—

"Hey, old man, do we know you?"

The girl pinches her brother. "What did I just tell you about being rude— Sorry about my idiot brother."

(She looks a lot like Merag's human form.)

"Ah, no, you don't know me," says Nasch, unnaturally-sounding. "I'm just a tourist."

(Wow, that was a terrible excuse. He hopes Durbe won't do stuff like that, ever.)

Ryouga whispers— actually doesn't whisper— to his sister, "I bet he's future-me!"

Nasch laughs it off. "Nah. Anyway, take care of your sister, will you?"

"Huh?"

Nasch is spared the explanation when an onion-haired kid appears. "Kamishiro-kun! You wanted a rematch?"

"Bring it!"

(The fact that humans duel for fun will never not make Nasch sad and happy at the same time.)

"Before you duel, can any of you tell me where I can— do music?"

(Weird wording, but Nasch lacks words for things he's never done.)

Onion boy tilts his head. "Karaoke?"

"Karaoke," Nasch repeats. "Yeah, thanks."

(Time to look for a place where he can do that. Judging from the rain clouds, he should hurry.)

* * *

"Booths are paid for by room and not by number of people. Do you want to share?"

Nasch opens his mouth to say no, but the redhead next to him grins and says, "Yeah. I wanna make some friends, I'm new in town. My name's Shingetsu! Shingetsu Rei."

(For some reason all figurative alarm bells inside Nasch's mind ring.)

Shingetsu pokes his arm, twice. "Do you have your student ID with you? I forgot mine."

 _Student_ what.

Nasch shakes his head.

Shingetsu sighs. "What a pain." He slides the receptionist a few bills. "Will that do?"

A nod from the receptionist is enough for Shingetsu to grab the keys and drag Nasch along.

* * *

"So? What's your name?"

 _Shit._

'Nasch' is a terrible answer because there's no surname attached to it and 'Nasch Barian' sounds fake even by Barian standards, so—

"Kamishiro Ryouga."

Shingetsu nods, as if it means anything. "I'll call you Ryouga, then."

(Isn't that a bit personal? At least Nasch thought it was that way.)

"What a scary face," Shingetsu goes on. "You should see your scowl."

(Oh, true. Mouths are a thing.)

"I'm not used to being around people," Nasch lies.

"Same for me."

(Nasch thinks that's a lie, too.)

Nasch shifts through the songs on the karaoke menu, looking for something he recognizes from advertisements and the like. Eventually, Shingetsu steals the remote. "I hope you don't mind rock."

 _Whatever that is._

* * *

It turns out that rock music meets all of Nasch's interests.

(For the permanent smile, Shingetsu sure enjoys singing about death, sarcasm, cynicism and revenge a lot.)

His voice is— _pleasant_ , to Nasch.

(Deceptively so.)

"Hey, Ryouga, you should try, too."

And maybe it's the angle, but in the dim lighting of the booth, he looks a terrifying lot like Vector.

(It's paranoia, Nasch tells himself. Why would Vector be here?)

So Ryouga tries, and maybe he gets into the lyrics a bit too much because Shingetsu is giggling.

"What's so funny?" Nasch scowls.

"Nothing, nothing," but the piece of shit keeps giggling.

(Stay calm, don't think of Vector's bullshit—)

Next thing Nasch knows is that he's pinning Shingetsu down on the couch. "Stop that."

(Impulse reaction when you're around Vector too much. Nasch would feel bad, but—)

"Wow, you're forward." Shingetsu laughs and plays with the hem of his shirt. "What's wrong, do I remind you of an ex or something?"

You couldn't be more wrong, piece of shit. You remind me of the one I hate the most.

Apparently Nasch said that out loud, because Shingetsu's smile starts to look almost sadistic. "Well, good thing that feeling is mutual, isn't it?"

(So he was trying to piss Nasch off on purpose. Asshole.)

Shingetsu tugs at his hair a little. "Aren't you gonna continue, Ryo— u— ga?~"

Nevermind the fact that Nasch is sensitive due to not being used to how hair works, he would take the bait either way and—

Next thing he knows is his mouth clumsily closes over Shingetsu's, who— on purpose or genuinely, Nasch doesn't know— seems just as unexperienced.

(Occasionally, Nasch reaches under Shingetsu's shirt, trailing over his chest, and Shingetsu's shiver tells him that it does something, but,

There's no gem there, why does Shingetsu gasp every time anyway? Is that a human thing?)

With the heat of the karaoke booth and his own body and Shingetsu's body getting to Nasch's head, he instead decides to bury his thoughts under his human body's instructions and enjoy himself.

(Because, in a weird way, this feels good. Is it supposed to be that way?)

And there it is, Shingetsu's, tongue, and, wow, that's an unexpected use.

(So instead of non-center gems, there's mouths. Nasch had seen human reproductive actions on the internet, but it's different doing it yourself.)

Nasch tries his best to reciprocate, but ends up going for using his teeth instead, because those remind him of his deck and—

"So that's your kink," Shingetsu comments between kisses, "lame."

Nasch has the urge to strangle him, but he opts for applying mild pressure instead.

The asshole's getting off on it, isn't he?

"Are you really the one to talk," Nasch says against his collarbone, and he nibbles a little.

(Seeing Shingetsu bite his lip to hide the pleasure is satisfying.)

With a loud thud, Shingetsu manages to reverse their positions and proceeds to straddle Nasch.

(Nice.)

"So, what now?" Nasch raises an eyebrow.

Shingetsu's eyes reflect nervosity for a bit, then, "You don't know? Are you a virgin, or what?"

"Well, yeah. If you're not, mind teaching me?" Nasch smirks, because now he's caught him.

"Sure."

What follows is Shingetsu clumsily attempting to unzip Nasch's pants, and eventually Nasch's anticipation wins over his desire to spite Shingetsu, so he helps a little.

"Wow, you got excited there." Shingetsu eyes Nasch's dick as if it's some novelty.

(To Nasch, it is, but—)

"Don't act like it's different for you."

For a bit, Nasch questions if it's normal for humans to have sex with strangers in karaoke booths. But maybe that's just a, human thing? There's no gem touching involved, so maybe the lack of intimacy helps.

Shingetsu scowls when Nasch grips his crotch firmly to confirm, "Not different in the slightest."

"Don't act cocky," Shingetsu says, but his breathy voice betrays him even with the karaoke music in the background.

Nasch drives the point home by moving his leg ever so slightly, causing Shingetsu to squirm. "I have all the reason to."

"Bastard." Shingetsu proceeds to start jerking him off, and that ends Nasch's temporary phase of superiority, because he has to bite his lip in an attempt to not moan.

Mouths are terrible.

Speaking of mouths, Shingetsu started using his on Nasch and Nasch doubts he lasts long like this if his early Barian experiences can be in any way comparable to this—

"I'm—"

"Nope, you're not," Shingetsu abruptly ceases any contact. "Wouldn't that be too easy?"

"I can't stand you."

"From the look on your face, I bet you're into denial."

(Not this type of—)

"No, asshole, I'm not." Nasch tries to not pant, with little success.

"Suuuuuure." Shingetsu gets to idly poking Nasch's dick. "Hey, if you wanna get off, let me have fun first~"

(If this was Vector, he'd have to decline now.

But it's okay, this isn't actually Vector and Nasch isn't really Nasch here, either.)

Nasch scowls and nods.

He sits up and pulls Shingetsu into his lap, unbuttoning his jeans as he does.

Shingetsu nonchalantly grinds his ass against Nasch's dick and god, this guy is a pain, because he giggles as Nasch struggles to deal with the sensation.

Nasch copies Shingetsu's earlier movements, trying to not make his confusion about human bodies obvious.

But Shingetsu doesn't seem to mind or notice Nasch's inexperience; instead his breathing becomes ragged and he pushes into Nasch's hand.

"Needy," says Nasch, if only to piss him off; and then he trails over Shingetsu's chest, making him squirm.

"Na— I'm—"

'Na'?

Nasch dismisses the thought in favor of going slower on purpose. "Are you?"

"Bastard," says Shingetsu and reaches down, but Nasch restrains his wrist.

This time, Shingetsu turns to look at him, and his needy furious face is enough to convince Nasch to let him cum.

(Maybe he's been too mean because the guy reminds him of Vector.)

He allows Shingetsu to get shaken by the orgasm, observes like he isn't part of it, but the heat between his legs reminds him (and also Shingetsu) soon enough that indeed, he hasn't gotten off yet.

Shingetsu doesn't waste much time before sliding off Nasch's lap and onto his knees, taking Nasch's dick into his mouth.

And, maybe that's pathetic—

(It is pathetic, says a voice that might be Nasch's or Vector's)

—but Nasch cums soon after, and watching Shingetsu lick it up is sort of?

 _Hot?_

 _?_

(Nasch thinks that must be a human thing. He hopes.)

Shingetsu smirks. "You okay there?"

It's just mockery.

"Shouldn't I be asking you that?" Nasch zips his pants back up.

A yawn. "Lame comeback." Shingetsu gets the remote.

Nasch raises an eyebrow. "Are we really gonna—?"

"Yeah. You haven't finished singing, yet~"

* * *

 **-1**

Kamishiro Ryouga has not aged in almost 8 years.

Now, Vector could blame this on good genetics or whatever, but his own human body doesn't age, either, so—

 _Astral World, maybe?_

That seems likely. Awfully likely. At first he thought the natural dislike was because of the similarities to Nasch, but this explanation makes so much more sense.

(—the paranoia of 'I killed Nasch, what if he's still around' has to stop, so this explanation has to make sense. Even if it doesn't.)

Vector only noticed Ryouga because he was undercover in human world, looking for the Astral emissary.

In a way, Vector would consider this pathetic. Taking on Nasch's job, and all.

But if anything, it's a way to take everything that Nasch cherishes.

And that's always worth it.

"Well then, let's see how good this kid is."

Time to tell Durbe we have a target for Tron's plan, now.

* * *

 **-0,5**

Rain, clouds, the thick atmosphere that is invisible to all the oblivious visitors of Heartland, the ones unaware of the corruption.

(This city's exterior is as much of a lie as the conflicts Vector has created within it.)

Vector loves the thrill, and he loves knowing that the driving forces of the city are under his command, and—

 _That night was a night like this, too, wasn't it?_

And his memory is good, so he makes his way to that karaoke bar. Mostly because sneezing is one of the weirder experiences of human bodies and he'd rather avoid it.

* * *

 _Fucking Kamishiro Ryouga._

(This is both an exclamation and a potential desire of Vector's right now.)

Vector blinks, twice. Then. "Long time no see."

"Who are you?" Ryouga's voice sounds hoarse and his eyes are bloodshot.

 _No wonder_. Vector giggles.

(After all, IV recently got Ryouga's little sister hospitalized.)

Ryouga narrows his eyes.

"You don't remember?" Vector pouts. "I'm disappointed, it's only been 8 years."

"What are you, some kind of chuunibyou?"

(Vector had googled that.)

He laughs. "Don't play dumb. Anyway, let's do karaoke again. I'm inviting you."

The invitation doesn't offer the option for a no, of course, though Ryouga attempts to go.

"Don't you need to take your thoughts off things?" Vector smirks.

"What do you know?" Ryouga glares.

"Even a blind person is able to tell you must've had a really bad breakup."

The same kind of joke, again. He hopes Ryouga still hates it.

"Piece of shit."

 _Oh, he does. Nice._

Ryouga slides the receptionist his ID, points at Vector and then at himself.

 _He's become better at this, huh?_

"Let's go."

Vector lets himself be dragged by the wrist.

* * *

Vector runs his fingers through Ryouga's damp hair, unsure of what to do now that this has happened for the second time and he still doesn't know what's up with Ryouga.

He can't be human given his lack of aging, but he also can't be Nasch because Nasch is dead. So he'd have to be an Astral being, but those would never let their guard down like this—

 _It makes no sense._

Two amnesiac Astral beings is an unlikely development, and Ryouga still doesn't strike Vector as the type who's good at deception.

(In fact, he seems to be utter garbage at it.)

They're both drenched in sweat and other bodily fluids and Vector wonders whether the sex gets to his rational thinking skills, but that, too, is absurd.

Kamishiro Ryouga is a wild card, much like Vector himself.

 _Interesting._

(That's precisely why he will tear him apart.)

* * *

 **0**

Vector had not considered that Kamishiro Ryouga going to Heartland Academy might prove to be an issue for his Shingetsu Rei persona.

After school, the first thing Ryouga does is pinning him against a wall. "What the fuck happened to your personality?"

 _Ever heard of acting, dumbass?_

"I don't know what you're talking about, Shark." Vector smiles innocently, bats his eyelashes just a little.

"Are you trying to get back at me because I had no idea what you were talking about last time?"

Vector pouts. "I'd never do such a thing!"

Ryouga narrows his eyes. "I'll keep an eye on you."

* * *

 **0,25**

Apparently Ryouga doesn't keep nearly enough of an eye on Vector, because Vector has Yuuma trapped in his web of lies with no escape in sight.

In the bathroom, Vector catches Ryouga saying, "Be careful around Shingetsu."

"Shingetsu? He's too innocent to hurt anyone."

Kamishiro Ryouga is too weak around Tsukumo Yuuma, and he doesn't protest.

* * *

 **0,5**

 _Nasch with amnesia. Great._

This is the worst case possible. Don Thousand tells him to not worry, but Vector clearly does worry because what the fuck are the odds of shit like this happening?

And after his speech, Nasch approaches Vector; soft and more Kamishiro Ryouga than Nasch, really. "Sorry about that."

Vector tilts his head. "About what?"

"At school. And before— I still don't remember everything, but, as I understand it we—" Nasch stops in his tracks.

"It was a complicated connection," Vector says, knowing that explains nothing.

"I can tell." Nasch crosses his arms. "Watch me, then."

"Eh?"

"Make sure they don't sway me."

"As you wish." Vector would smirk if it was his human form.

* * *

 **0.75**

"I've been waiting for you."

Vector is a giant piece of garbage.

( _A giant piece of garbage that you slept with three times_ , says a voice that might be Vector's or Nasch's own.)

Maybe if Nasch kills him this time, Vector stays dead.

Maybe.

* * *

"Turn to dust, Vector!"

It's not satisfying.

Vector is the most relevant person in Nasch's life right now, negatively so, and even though killing him is, by all means, objectively good, it leaves Nasch utterly cold to watch him die at Don Thousand's hands.

In fact, it leaves him.

Annoyed?

Annoyed.

Perhaps it's petty, perhaps it's more like Vector and less like Nasch, but they always had a habit of adapting each other's traits, and—

 _Don Thousand will pay._

Not for killing Vector, but for toying with everyone's lives.

(And for making Nasch put up with Vector's bullshit for five decades.)

* * *

 **1**

"I knew you'd kill me," says Nasch, matter-of-factly, at the dinner table.

(The others are in the kitchen, making food, and someone needs to make sure Vector doesn't swap salt with sugar, so. Living room it is.)

Vector shrugs. "You didn't even attempt to prevent it. I'm disappointed."

"I thought you'd challenge me, fair and square."

"Me. Fair." Vector coughs.

"Yeah, my mistake." Nasch narrows his eyes. "So, about that thing—"

"About what?"

Nasch sighs, "Karaoke."

"Yeah, that was fun, wasn't it?" Vector laughs.

"Did you know it was me?"

"Nah. Though I should've known. No one else can be that annoying." Vector cracks his knuckles. "Wanna go again? You lost every time, didn't you?"

It's an invitation, Nasch knows, and he shouldn't accept, but,

"Sure."


End file.
